


In Which Amber Wants to Destroy Frea

by WitchipediaAus



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bendy and the Ink Machine, Crossover, F/F, F/M, Kinda, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 18:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15079205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitchipediaAus/pseuds/WitchipediaAus
Summary: Dear Amber,It seems like a lifetime since we worked on cartoons together. Thirty years really slips away, doesn't it?If you're back in town, come visit the old workshop. There's something I need to show you.Your best friend,A. Frea





	1. A Letter

_Dear Amber,_  

_It seems like a lifetime since we worked on cartoons together. Thirty years really slips away, doesn't it?_  

_If you're back in town, come visit the old workshop. There's something I need to show you._  

_Your best friend,_  

_A. Frea_

 

Friends, huh? That's what she was calling it now? 

They  _had_  been friends at one point, but... No, not anymore. 

However, whatever Frea found so important that she broke her self-imposed silence probably was important enough for Amber to break her promise to never return. 

She'd go, but Frea had a lot of explaining to do. 

 

"Alright, Frea," Amber held herself back from sighing, closing the door behind her. "Let's see if I can find what you wanted me to see." 


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frea wanted to show her something.
> 
> She might as well look.

She smiled at the posters lining the hall.  

 _Ophie_ _in:_ _Little Devil Darling._  

 _Ophie_ _in: The Dancing Demon._   

 _Ophie_ _in: Sheep Songs, starring Jazz!_  

There were six posters total, all three of them repeated twice. It seemed that those were Frea's favorites. Well, they had sold the best, so it made sense, at least. 

Amber remembered working on them, remembered creating the characters. She remembered having to fight Frea on getting  Ophie approved – having a demon as the main character was a dangerous thing – and then fighting to get the cartoons aired. 

It had been a struggle, but they were her creations. She was proud of what they became, under her care. Maybe she shouldn't have left... 

She was here for a reason. She needed to keep moving. 

 

Just looking around the studio made her skin crawl, but Frea wanted her here. She might as well look. 

The noises the gears made, the ones behind  **Amaria** **Frea** **Studios** , freaked her out. When did Frea add those? Why were they still moving? The steady hum made it hard for her to focus. 

The door was locked. Things were falling apart.  _Bad, bad, bad._  

The projector wasn't playing anything. Amber didn't want to turn it off though, seeing as it was providing light. The desk was empty too, a sticker or something similar of Ophie sitting on it.  

At least the thing next to it was playing some kind of animation. It gave her some kind of joy to see her creation welcoming her, with that tiny wave she'd animated so many times. 

 

"Hey, here's my old desk!" She smiled again. "I spent so much time in this chair..." 

Her doodle of Ophie smiling 'weirdly' was still sitting there, along with Frea's note. Amber still didn't get it. It was funny, why did Frea tell her no? 

 

"Huh." Amber hummed, entering the area across from her desk. "Looks like they knocked out a wall or two after I left." 

She looked around at the posters, "Guess it took a few people to replace me..." 

 _Work hard, work happy._  She had always hated that poster, for no real reason other than it felt wrong to her. It felt even more so now. 

Frea kept a poster of the Bacon Soup too. Why, Amber never knew. That stuff was gross, but least it made some profit. 

The desks held frames of Ophie running, but she could have sworn that the Ophie on the corner one changed. Whether it had or not, it held a drawing of Ophie sitting, though he looked more like he was floating. He was looking up, towards Amber, like he wanted to tell her something. 

The bathroom across from it, hidden next to the stairs she had walked down, was boarded up and the light inside flickered. She was kind of surprised that the light still worked. 

 

Going back into the entrance room and across into the other hall, Amber bit her lip at the sight of the sign hanging from the wall. 

The sign listed off directions to different areas, some of which Amber wasn't around for. 

The door to the right was locked. 

Three more things were listed, all to the left. The Ink Machine – concerning, and probably where she needed to go – the theater, and the break room. 

There wasn't really a choice, was there? 

 

Amber elected to ignore the writing on the walls –  _d_ _reams come true_ _,_  who would have written that? - and the small Ophie cutout taped to the wall, continuing down the hall. 

As she went, she was almost oblivious that one of the doors she passed had light slipping from under it. She stopped, listening to the soft sounds coming from it. There seemed to be... music playing? Who was playing music? 

Either way, the door was locked, and so was the one across from it. 

She grew concerned over the garage door-like thing blocking her from turning down, presumably, another hallway. What was Frea hiding? 

Another locked door. 

 

At the end of the hall, a piece of paper was taped to the wall, labeled "ink output schedule." Next to it was a sign, warning her of danger up ahead. 

The pipe running directly in her path was definitely a safety hazard. She stepped over it, thinking that there was probably a better place to have put it. 

 

The room she entered next was big, and she couldn't find a way down to the bottom. Not that she wanted to go down there. It looked threatening, chains hanging from pulleys attached to the ceiling. She wanted nothing to do with it. 

Looking around, she hummed softly. "This lift could use a few dry cells..." 

She opened the chest in front of her, ignoring the Ophie cutout behind it. 

She grabbed the cell in it and then grabbed the one on the shelf next to the cutout. 

Placing them in the right spots, she muttered, "Let's see what you're hiding down there, old friend." 

She pulled the lever before moving to stand next to it. Her hands gripped the rail of the fence stopping her from descending next to the hole in the floor, nervously picking at some of the wood. 

The chains creaked and groaned, doing all that they could just to lift up... whatever it was down there. 

She squinted as the top of the object appeared. It looked... kind of like a box. 

As the rest was pulled into view, she grew scared. The pipes running from under the machine, the puff of steam that emerged from it when it stopped moving, the gears and ink splatters... 

She wanted to leave, and quickly, but she had to do this. Frea thought this was important. It had to be. 

 

Turn on the machine. That was her new goal. 

She paused in front of one of the three doors. None of them had been open, but now this one and the garage one were. 

Odd. 

Pushing it open so she could enter, Amber was met with another room she didn't remember. 

All the way in the back of the room, there was a hallway, blocked off by boards and cobwebs. She could barely make out a "keep out" sign on the wall. 

Looking back in the main area, she found a dart board and an unlocked door. She sighed as she was met with bacon soup.  _Just the way the little devil likes it._  

She walked past the Ophie cutout, now aware of eyes watching her. But... 

No, that couldn't be right. 

 

Entering the area across from the now-open door, she was met with a door in front of her and two paths. She decided to go right, raising an eyebrow at the placement of an Ophie cutout. 

There was a desk and a locked door. She could only go down the hall. 

She jumped, almost letting herself scream, when a board fell in front of her. Taking a moment to steady her heartbeat and breathing, she observed the area she was in. 

There were two rooms she could enter, but only the one to the left had a light she could see. 

Picking her poison, she turned left. 

 

"Oh my gosh..." She felt like she was about to cry, "Frea, what were you doing?" 

Sitting in front of her, was a 3D, honest-to-god  _real, physical_  body of Jazz, strapped down to a board. Her ribs were showing, chest cut open with a wrench sitting in her chest. Candles sat on two posts, a chair and closed toolbox between them. Ink ran down in front of the body. 

Amber paused in front of the writing on the wall.  _Who's laughing now?_  What could that be referring to? 

When she stood close to the body, she could hear whispering. It made her skin crawl. 

There was an unlocked door, at least. 

 

The door was a shortcut back to the hallway. She was standing in front of the Ophie cut out again. 

Stepping over the board, she entered the other room. 

 

Ink Machine. That was what the banner said. 

"Alright, how do I get this to work?" Looking over all the pedestals, Amber took note of the objects. Wrench, doll, something to do with music, ink jar, gear, and a book. 

Exiting the room, Amber stopped dead in her tracks. The board that had scared her was now holding a cutout of Ophie up. "Who put this here?!" 

No response. 

 

At least she knew where the wrench was. 

 

Going down the left side of the area, she found a tape recording. Pressing play, she heard Felicia's voice. 

 _"At this point, I don't get what_ _Frea's_ _plan is for this company. The animations sure aren't being finished on time anymore, and I certainly don't see why we need this... machine. It's noisy, it's messy, and who needs that much ink, anyway?_  

 _"Also, get this:_ _Frea_ _had each one of us donate something from our work station. We put them on these little pedestals in the break room. 'To help appease the gods,'_ _Frea_ _says. 'Keep things going.'_  

 _"I think she's lost her mind, but hey, she writes the checks._  

 _"But I tell_ _you_ _what, if one more of these pipes bursts, I'm_ outta _here."_  

 

She continued her way down the hall, running into two more doors. The unlocked one held a bunch of projectors, a few reels, and one can of bacon soup. Nothing she could use. 

Moving on, she found a room with chairs lined up in front of a screen. She found a plush of Ophie sitting on one of the chairs. 

That was probably the doll she needed. 

There was an ink pressure valve hidden in the corner. She made a mental note, it was probably important. 

 

Going back to the room with the darts, she found a book on the table, labeled  _The Illusion of Living_  by A. Frea. That was most likely the book she needed if she knew Frea at all. 

 

As she went to walk past the door with the music playing, the light inside shut off, as did the music. 

Opening the door – unlocked, now- she found a note on a desk.  _He will set us free._  Who would? 

Above the desk was a picture of a music note. Maybe the thing she needed was in here, then. 

Looking around, she found a record for Ophie's show. Made sense, at least. 

 

She had to go all the way back to the area next to her old desk to find the next object. 

(She swore the frame of Ophie had changed again, the one she thought had done so last time.) 

Turning her back, she tried to find the ink jar. It was probably here, if everything was to be believed. Looking at the desk in the corner, she swore Ophie had moved positions, but at least the ink jar was there. 

 

The gear was in the room with the Ink Machine. Amber really didn't like that room.  

"Okay, that's all of them..." She rubbed her arms, making her way back to the break room. 

 

She set all the objects on their pedestals, her skin prickling each time the pedestals set into place. 

"Now I just need to get the ink flowing somehow..." She tapped her foot on the ground. "Should be a switch somewhere around here, then I get the main power on." 

 

She walked quickly and quietly all the way back to the pressure valve she had found. 

She was eager to get this over with, to get out of this nightmare of a studio. 

Lost in thought, the cutout of Ophie popping out from behind the corner almost didn't register. 

Almost. 

Amber brought a hand to her chest, letting out a gasp. She stood for a moment, completely still, trying to get her heart back into her chest. 

 _Oh, dear. Who's even in here?_  

She turned the corner, half expecting someone to be sitting on a chair. 

There was no one there. 

The projector started playing the moment she entered the room. Amber stood for a moment, watching the tiny animation of Ophie bouncing repeat over and over, whistling playing in the background. It was oddly happy. 

Ophie's smile felt forced to her. 

 

She turned the valve, avoiding the broken pipe as best she could as she got to the stairs. She was wearing a white dress, and ink had already splattered on it. 

The room filled with ink quickly. Amber didn't know what to think or feel, other than she was terrified. 

 

She pulled the lever, and the screen said that the Machine was running. 

Everything felt... heavier now that it was on. She could feel her hair rising and heard the sound of clanging coming from the pipes.  

She walked quietly back to the room holding the Ink Machine. She wouldn't say she was walking slow, but she wasn't walking too quickly. 

She forced herself not to stop when she saw footprints on the ground, stepped over the pipe, and turned the corner. 

Blocked. 

The path to the Ink Machine was boarded up, and Amber could only barely peak in through the opening. She had a few seconds to spare, might as well- 

She fell down, the misshapen figure of  _something_   _inky_  popping up in front of her. 

She scrambled to her feet, running away, jumping and nearly tripping over the damned pipe, and she ran down the hallway, trying not to slip on the ink filling the areas. 

She saw the exit, almost started crying in relief when she saw the door was already pried open, saw the sunlight behind it- 

And she fell. The floor broke under her, causing her to fall a long distance down, landing in ink. 

 

She stayed where she was for a few seconds, watching the ink drip down, before making her way, slowly, dragged down by the ink to another tape, sitting on a shelf. 

She hit play, humming at the sound of Mei's voice. Oddly enough, her voice sounded scratchy, distant, and depressed, not the fiery, energized voice she was used to. 

 _"It's dark, and it's cold, and it's stuck in and behind every wall now. In some places, I swear this godforsaken ink is clear up to my knees! Whoever thought these crummy pipes could hold up under this kind of strain either knows something about pressure I_ don't _, or he's some kind of idiot._  

 _"But the real worst part about all this... are the noises the system makes. Like a dying dog on_ _it_ _s_ _last legs. Make no mistake, this place... this..._ machine _... heck, this whole darn thing... It just isn_ _'t_ _natural._  

 _"You can bet,_ _I won't be doing any more repair jobs for Miss_ _Amaria_   _Frea_ _."_  

 

The voice of another human being calmed her nerves a little, despite how off said voice was. She was ready to move on, at least for a bit. 

She trudged her way over to the valve across the room, surprised at how easy it was to turn it. Hopefully, all of them would be that way. 

The ink was sucked out of the room, or at least that's what it looked like. Amber sighed in relief. Walking would be much easier now. 

 

She made her way down the hall, trying to dodge as much ink as possible. Her dress was going to be black by the time she was out of here. 

She sighed when she was met with another flooded area, pulling up as much of her dress as she could with one hand and making her way to the valve. 

The valve was harder to pull than the last, but she managed. 

Reaching the bottom of the next flight of stairs, she raised her eyebrow at the candles covered in ink. They were of no use now, sadly. 

Turning the corner, she was met with more stairs and ink flooding the bottom. It was deeper this time, but she pulled her dress up anyway and layered to at least protect some of it. 

 

The third valve wasn't much harder to pull than the second one. Amber would take her victories when she found them. 

The only way to continue was through a door. 

Opening it, she carefully made her way in. She still didn't know what the inky monster had been, but who knew what it could do. 

Her shoulders dropped when she noticed there was nothing in the room with her, but they went right back up when she noticed the writing on the wall. 

 _THE CREATOR LIED TO US._  

Creator? Who could that be?  

Amber shook her head. This wasn't the time to be asking questions she couldn't get answers to. Looking towards a dresser-like desk, she picked up the axe. 

"This will definitely come in handy." She swung it a few times, testing how to grip it the best for her needs. 

 

She hit the boards with the axe as best she could, managing to get most of them out of the way. 

A boarded-up door was the only way to continue, no matter how much she didn't want to mess with things. Mei was right, this place wasn't natural. 

 

She stood in the entrance for a minute, glaring at the pentagram drawn on the floor. 

It was the only way she could go. 

Taking a breath, she tried to avoid the thing, but she placed her foot on a line and gasped as pain ran through her head. 

An image flashed, but she didn't know what it was. She didn't have time to think on it before an image of a wheelchair flashed, and then one of the ink monster that scared her. 

She saw everything going darker before passing out.

**Author's Note:**

> felicia: @ask-a-sleepdeprived-author  
> amber: @ask-the-misfits  
> mei: @a-bunch-of-ghosthunters  
> ophie: @ask-the-reborn-mechanic


End file.
